Clip for clothes racks



Jan. 19, 1954 M. MACCAFERRI CLIP FOR CLOTHES RACKS Filed Feb. 19, 1951 IN VENTOR Puaz (RAE.

ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 19, 1954 UNITED PLTENI OFFICE li'. A .g i on cLoTHEs nhcxs I ltd arialiIaceaferrhItya N. Y. Application February 19, 1951, Serial No. 211,639

40mins. (1124-137) This invention relates. broadly to "clothes clips and its rho'respecific" aspects it 'relatesto olot'lies clips adapted jto be-Esupported from and combined with a horizontal rodon-at'clothes men; and the nature and objects of the invention w1l1 be: readily understood, by those skilled in the arts to which it relates Ein'the light-of the following ex- "planation and detailedt description of the accompanying firawing's'illustrating: what I at "present believe to be the preferred embodiments and meohahical expressionsoi my invention from among various other forms,;arr,angements; combinations and constructions, of ,which'ithe invention is capable within the spirit-fand scope thereof; 7 i

,The" clothesxclip of thisapplication fconstit'utes an" improvement on therolothes clip. shown in my Patent 2,46lg333iissued: February-I8; 01949; for Clothes Pin: and alsoconstitutes an improvement over theiclothes. clip disclosediin my pending pate ent'applicationSerialNo; 75,120; filed February 8111949, for Clips for. ClotheslRacks,1 now. Paten NoT2,-583,784, dated January 29, 119521: lt

The 'clipsioflthis"characterlwithxwhich 1 am.

familiar must be mountedion and: removed from the" horizontal clipiisupportingl fod ofiiai clothes rack through one side-of the-"clip: :This" method of mounting the 'clips on: the horizontal support:- ing 'ro'd o'faclothesrack requires removal of the hEiriaontalf rod from it'sfcloth'es facki supporting 'stiuotiir so] that one or more" clips may. be slid Sidwiseon the 'en'd"of'- th' horizontal rod The necessity "of mounting? t clips sidewise on a the roaatan end thereof has necess'itatdfcofisti uct I ingthe clothes rack so that the horizontal] rod m "b dis mii F 55 EFQFQQ Eth i andoficonr se-has addedto the expense ofmanu:

55 .5 b lw ra iie u io it new bina "on olothesirack. andgoljothes clip oadd;

tional clipsto thefhori zontal rod .wiaiaaaaa nofmanipul atiorlg gf .aiiyQpi-fil}, i.l I"

organization.

.My clipsmay be mounted by a radial associa+ tion with the rod rather than by an axial asso. ciation therewith .due to a novel type of biasing springxand jaw construction which Ihavedevised.

The; improved clip also includes. novel .means for;guiding and' constraining the jawsfintheir pivoting action and for; removably. maintaining the clip. in position 'mountedon the horizontal rod.

,1 have also, provided novelgripping. means which areso formed on the jaw' surfaces that the configuration of every jaw gripping surface is the same and when two jawsareassembled into an operative unit will-properly mate to provide. the

desired grippingflsurface. .It will be appreciated that such a construction greatly facilitates the assembly o f:.th e "clips,- for it isinotnecessary that one ,iawhaving. a certain; gripping surfacebe assembled with another;Jawhavingv a-different grip.-

p nes a e. 1

The improved clip in one form also embodies a novel type of biasing spring whereby certain adi.. vantages of construction, assembly and operation are obtained, I

-With; the foregoing general objects, features and -res11lts in, view, as well ascertain others Which wi ll be apparent fromthe following ex+; planation the invention consists in certain novel features in design, construction, mounting and; combination of elements, as will be morpe -fully a u ar erredet an specified hereinafter." v 1 is a view in elevation of the clips mounted on the horizontal rod of a-clothesrack.

-Eig. 21s a view taken 0n-1ine,2'2 of Fig. l. Fig fi is a View. taken. o, n ;line 3 3 of Fig. "1.

Fig; (l is a view takenbnlineA-A of Fig.2.; Fig. 5-is aviewtaken on lines-=5 of Fig.2, Fig.-6 is -a view t a ken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

" *Fig.17 is a viewin-sideelevationof another'form" wherein; -I have used the numeral"! to designate a: 15th :raekwhich may "comprise "a horizontal portion 3 having depending end members {S b e tween the lower ends of" which "extends a hori r zontai 'gwth'e clip suppo ting rod 1 pf cy'imait. cal fcontou'r. The clothes rack' mayal'so incliide tanamg'hddieniemb r"9' by in ansorjwhich" theorganization maybe suspended frcim' a clothes ban-or the like. The' clothesra'ck I may be'constriicted of plastic or any other T suitable "material and of course may take forms diliringfrom that illustrated'in the drawings, howevenit is desir-' able to form the horizontal clothes clip supportin rod 1 of metal.

The horizontal rod '5 is adapted to removably mount and support any number of cloth-es clips H. Organizations of this character are particularly advantageous and are used extensively for the hanging support of ladies skirts and mens trousers and other garments, and it will be apparent that it is desirable that the clothes clips I I be mounted on the horizontal rod of the clothes rack in such manner that they may be moved longitudinally therealoiig to conform to the varying widths of the garments being supported.

The clothes clips I I may be made in any suitable way and are preferably formed of plastic ma terial. Each clip consists of a pair of clamping jaws l3 and I5 and each clamping jaw is of the same structure. A clamping jawis provided with spaced side flanges 2! having a gripping surface 23 extending between theflanges from the long-- tudinal edges thereof. The gripping surface is provided with a series of half ball spaced projections 25 adjacent the end of the gripping surface, and these projections start at one side of the surface but do not extend to and are spaced from the other side. Rearwardly spaced relative to the projection 25 is a transverse rib 21 and rearwardly spaced from the rib I provide a further series of spaced half ball projections 29 which start at the other side of the gripping surface from that at which projections 25 start. and the series of projections 29 are spaced from the other side of the surface. -It will thus be appreciated that the projections 25 and 29 are not in alignment. A rib 3| is formed on the gripping surface rearwardly spaced relative to the series of projections 29 and this rib extends approximately halfway across the gripping surface.

An offset portion 33 extends between the flanges rearwardly of the gripping surface. 7 V

I provide a finger receiving portion 35'which bridges the flanges at the fear or handle end of the jaw. This finger receiving portion extends from the other longitudinal edges of the flanges from those from which the grippin surface and the offset portion extend. Consideration of the drawings discloses that this structural'a'rrangement of the jaws provides an opening within the area defined by the flanges and between the offset portion and the finger receiving portion.

A clothes clip includes a pair of jaw member-s pivotally mounted together for rocking movement to separate the clamping jaws for receiving therebetween material to be suspended from the clip.

The clamping portion of the jaws are urged together by an M spring '31 which includes a base 39 having a re eritrarft portion 4| therein, the base connecting the upper ends of a pair of legs 43 each of which has a corrugation 45 adjacent to the lower end thereof. When two jaws are in assembled position the M spring 31 is operatively associated with the jaws connecting them together and constantly urging the jaw portion together inclamping position. It will be recognized that a leg extends through the opening in each jaw and presses against the offset portion.

With the two jaws mounted as described forming a unitary structure the clamping jaws may be separated by forcing thediverging handle par-.- tions toward one another whereupon a rocking 0r pivoting action of the two jaws takes place.

Eachjaw component of aunitary clip is formed with a plane surface 49 on each flange edge, and adjacent the rear end of such plane surface of one flange I provide a :half ball :PIQiWfiQE 4 and adjacent the rear end of the plane surface on the other flange edge I form a half ball recess 53. Rearwardly of the plane portions of the flange edges I provide substantially semi-circular recesses or cutout sections and rearwardly of one of such semi-circular cutout sections on one flange edge I provide an upstanding or upright finger or lug member 51 having its forward edge arcuately shaped as at 59 to form in efiect a continuation of the semi-circular cutout section. On the other flange edge rarwardly of the cutout section, instead of forming the upstanding finger or 111g 5! I cut a section of the edge out as at 5|.

When two jaw components are operatively associated to form the clip of this invention it will be apparent that the jaws are inverted relative to each other, that is the gripping surface of one jaw faces in a direction opposite to that of the gripping surface of the other jaw. As pointed out hereinabove, the structure of each jaw component is exactly the same so that when they are inverted the positions of the various elements will be oppositely disposed. For instance the series of half ball projections on the gripping surfaces are so positioned that the projections of one jaw will fall between the projections of the other jaw and hence a secure and firm gripping surface is provided so that material clamped between the jaws will be maintained suspended from the clips. Similarly, the transverse ridges which extend halfway across each gripping area will be in alignment providing additional gripping means. When the jaws are rocked by means of the divergent handles the pivoting action will take place on surfaces 49 of the flanges and will be guided and aided by the action of the half ball projections 5| seating in the half ball recesses 53. Due to the construction wherein one flange of one jaw has a recess and the opposing flange of the other jaw has a projection it will be appreciated that when two jaws are assembled in operative clip forming position a projection will be positioned for seating in a recess. In like manner when two jaws are operatively associated in clip forming position the cutout portions 5| on one flange of one jaw will be disposed opposite the finger or lug 57 'on the other jaw so that When he laws are looked a finger will rock into and out of a cutout portion. This movement of the fingers into and out of the cutout portions as the jaws are rocked in the operation of the clip guides and constrains the jaws to maintain them proper relative positions so that they will not be laterally offset with respect to one nother. 7

When the clip mounted on the horizontal rod of a clothes rack the rod is forced between the diver-gent handle portion of the jaws and engages the inclined rear surfaces Q3 of the fingers 5'! to thereby spread the handle ends of the jaw sufliciently far apart to permit the entry of the horizontal rod into the semi-circular recesses or cutout portions 55 within the flanges of the jaws. When two jaw members are connected together by means of the M spring it will be appreciated that the semi-circular recesses in each flange provide complementary surfaces which define a space for receiving a horizontal supporting rod, and that this space is on the other side of the pivotal connection (thesections 4.9 of the flanges) from the clamping .jjaw's. With the clip operatively moun'ted and suspended from the horizontal rod of the clothes .rajck it will "be apparent that it is received within the "re-entrant portion of the base of the M spring and when in this position it is "maintained "therein "by the fingers 7 I51 whiclf effectually close theifear openlpg at tlf rear upper edges of the semi ircular cutout-portions. It will be recognized thafthis saver rid unique construction permits itheiattachment dfa clothes'clip on thehorizontal rodby moving the clip radially towardtherod'and whenfthe'rdd has passed thefingersthe clip will be removabl'y maintained onthe rod. i 11." 1,.

.Con'siderationnof the .drawings illustrates "that the re-entrantportion of the biasing spring is aligned with the rod receiving spaces defined by the semi-circular cutout portion in the flanges of the jaws, so that the horizontal rod may extend through the spaces and "the re-"entrant portion. It is also evident that the rod may be released from the unit through the divergent handle end thereof without disturbing or engaging the M biasing spring.

The clips of this invention may be moved axially of the horizontal rod when the clamping jaws are in closed position and are locked on the rod against axial movement therealong when the jaw portions of the clips are in separated position. This locking action is generally the same as that described in my pending application Serial No. 75,120 and results from a reduction in the diameter of the area defined by the semi-circular cutout portions through which the rod extends so that a binding or wedging action on the rod results.

In Fig. 7 of the drawings I have disclosed a further form of biasing spring which I have designated in its entirety by the numeral 65. This biasing spring 65 is a pentagon type spring and includes a base section 64 and side portions 69 having five sides from the lower of which legs H extend which are bent towards each other at '13 forming in effect a corrugation at thispoint. It will be observed that the five sided body portion of this spring is relatively larger or longer than the legs. This spring has been found to be exceptionally useful and advantageous when used with a clip generally similar to that illustrated in my pending patent application Serial No. 75,120.

What I claim is:

1. A clip including, in combination, a pair of members provided intermediate the opposite ends thereof with facing arcuate recesses therein defining a support rod receiving space therebetween; clamping jaws formed by said members, respectively, at one side of said recesses; outwardly divergent handles formed by said members at the side of said recesses opposite said clamping jaws; a spring unit mounted on said members adapted to continuously'bias the said members to position closing said clamping jaws; said spring unit including opposite spring legs extending along and engaged with said clamping jaws, respectively, and a base common to said spring legs extending between said members across and spaced from said recesses at the side thereof opposite said handles; each of said members being provided with a finger extending inwardly therefrom to the opposite member and across and closing the outer, handle side of said rod receiving space formed between said recesses; and each of said members being formed with an opening therein aligned with and freely movably receiving therein the inwardly extending finger of the other of said members.

2. A clip including, in combination, a pair of members provided intermediate the opposite ends thereof with facing arcuate recesses therein defining a space therebetween adapted to receive therethrough a support rod for pivotally sup- 8 pBEtiiig' said ifipeis v forme'dfby'the said members at' oneside of said recesses; (inward y divergent handles; formedby salidlrnembersfat the side of said recesses opposite said clamping aws; a spring unit mounted o'n'sa' id members and'being vadapted to continu ousl y' biasfsaidmembers; in directions to bring tdgetlier and close said clampingjaws;- each of said members being provided with-a finger extending inwardlytherefrom to the opposite member across andclosingthe outeryside of the rod receiving space formed between said I recesses in all operative positions ofsaid members; and each of said members at .the portion thereof opposite the-inwardly"extendingfinger of the other of said members-being formed to' freely pass such in; non-engaging relation for movements fin r ..r.e a re... heret i clamping Jaw opening and closing operations of said members.

3. A clip including, in combination, a pair of members provided intermediate the opposite ends thereof with facing complementary bearing surfaces defining therebetween a space adapted to receive therethrough a rod for pivotally mounting said members thereon; said members being formed to provide facing complementary clamping jaws at one side of said bearing surfaces; said members being formed to provide outwardly divergent handles at the side of said bearing surfaces opposite said clamping jaws; a spring unit mounted on said members adapted to continuously bias said members to position closing said clamping jaws; each of said members being provided with a finger immediately adjacent said bearing surface in such member extending inwardly therefrom to the opposite member in position across and closing the outer, handle side of said rod receiving space formed between said complementary bearing surfaces; each of said members being formed with a recess therein facing and aligned with the said inwardly extending finger of the other of said members with such finger having non-bearing engagement with the said other member; and the outer side edge of each of said fingers being inclined inwardly from the member on which mounted toward the opposite member to thereby provide outwardly divergent camming surfaces located between said handles at the outer, handle side of said bearing surfaces.

4. A clip including, in combination, a pair of members pivotally joined at the portions thereof intermediate the opposite ends of said members; said members at one side of said pivotally joined intermediate portions being formed to provide facing complementary clamping jaws and at the opposite side of said intermediate portions being formed to provide outwardly divergent handles; a spring unit mounted on said members adapted to continuously bias the members to position closing said clamping jaws; each of said handles having longitudinal edge flanges thereon extending therefrom inwardly toward the said longitudinal edge flanges of the opposite of said handles; a pair of complementary, facing bearing surfaces formed adjacent the inner ends, respectively, of the facing flanges at opposite sides of said handles to define therebetween spaces aligned transversely of said members for receiving therethrough a rod for pivotally mounting said members thereon; fingers provided adjacent the inner ends of said flanges outwardly of said bearing surfaces at opposite sides, respectively, of said handles with each of said fingers being positioned immediately adjacent the bearv ing'tsurieeerin-tthetflange gffeeigl handl and ex:

tend ng inwarsll tn ret n; t the @RP HZ :91 sa d m m ers :in ;.nos.it rqn across and z l sing the uter h nd e de of the red re eivin space f rmed betwe n uch earing surfa e and t e bearing surface in-the facing flange :of the other f.-said,hand1,es; and-each ,Qf-said handles being formed with :a recess therein opposite the inwardl y extending finger on the other of said handles with such finger :heing freely received and. movable .in $110.11 re ess in non-bearing engagement with the said handle.

MARIO MACCAFERRI.

Name Date 'Lendi-n, "Dec. 2, 1913 Number Number Number 8 :Name :Da-te Michaela Jan. 27, 1914 Wilkins :Mar.'24, 1914 'FKuendeI '*May*25,,"1948 Burns 'May "31, 11949 Terry Jan. 31, 1950 Weymouth .Oc1:. 17,;{1950 Slaker -Nov. 21, 21950 when Sept-25, 1951 'fMaccaferri Jan. 29,1952

.EOREIG PATENT JGountry Date Great Britain Y V Feb." 141, 1.9448 

